Universal Music Group and TikTok Announce New Global Licensing Agreement
Universal Music Group and TikTok Announce New Global Licensing Agreement
Santa Monica — May 22, 2026 — Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, and TikTok, the world’s best platform for music discovery and promotion, today announced a new multi-year strategic licensing agreement, further strengthening the existing relationship between the two companies, and providing additional benefits for artists, songwriters, creators, and fans.
TikTok will continue to offer its global community access to UMG’s expansive recorded music and publishing catalogs, while fostering deeper engagement between creators and UMG’s artists and songwriters through best-in-class technology and promotional capabilities.
Building on the success of the multi-dimensional partnership announced in 2024, the new deal will further enhance creative and commercial opportunities for UMG’s artists and songwriters through expanded marketing and advertising campaigns, as well as access to ecommerce and other artist-centric tools.
The new deal also extends TikTok and UMG’s groundbreaking commitment to AI protections that promote human artistry and ensure platform economics effectively flow through to artists and songwriters. TikTok and UMG will work together to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, while further improving artist and songwriter attribution.
The new agreement will deepen collaboration between TikTok and UMG across fan engagement experiences and artist development initiatives, helping highlight emerging artists from all over the world, strengthen connections between artists and audiences, and unlock new opportunities across discovery, fandom and digital experiences.
Michael Nash, Executive Vice-President & Chief Digital Officer of Universal Music Group, said: “We’re proud of the pioneering work we’ve done with TikTok to create wide-ranging benefits for our artists and songwriters. With this new agreement, we look forward to driving innovative new fan experiences, while further improving social media monetization, and protecting and amplifying human artistry.”
Tracy Gardner, Global Head of Music Business Development at TikTok, said: “We’re excited to take our partnership with UMG to the next level, and build on the strong foundation we’ve already created together for artists, songwriters and fans. TikTok is a unique platform where music discovery, culture and fandom intersect, and this agreement will help create even more opportunities for artists and songwriters to engage audiences, grow their communities and achieve career success on a global scale.”
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About Universal Music Group
At Universal Music Group, we exist to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audio-visual content. Featuring the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms, and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. For more information, visit www.universalmusic.com.
About TikTok
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.
TikTok’s global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and its offices include New York, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.